--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The camera should be used for a recording…" description: "\"The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/edward-weston-8944_cameras_the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recordin_1555062.jpg" --- # The camera should be used for a recording of life, for… ![“The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.” quote by Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/edward-weston-8944_cameras_the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recordin_1555062.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/edward-weston-8944_cameras_the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recordin_1555062.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/edward-weston-8944_cameras_the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recordin_1555062.jpg) > “The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.” [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The camera captures life’s essence, whether metal or flesh, preserving reality’s core **In simple terms:** Photography records the true nature of subjects Key Takeaway Use photography to reveal deeper truths Themes art photography truth Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type theoretical artistic When to use this quote - documentary work - artistic projects - science imaging Key Concepts aesthetics materiality Questions to Reflect On - How do you choose subjects that reflect essence? - What ethical responsibilities accompany truthful capture? A Different Perspective Technical limits may distort reality ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Camera Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera-used-1382649/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Rendering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-rendering-5821802/) [Photographer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographer/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Polished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polished/) [Quintessence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quintessence/) [Recording](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recording/) [Recording Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recording-life-710052/) [Rendering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rendering/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steel/) [Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not used to being in front of a camera as myself. I'm not used to watching myself as myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-page/i-m-not-used-to-being-in-front-of-a-camera-as-myself-i-m-not-used-to/) [Ellen Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-page/) > [As small, quick, foolproof cameras became generally available, moreover, the camera has been used so much and so flabbily by so many people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/as-small-quick-foolproof-cameras-became-generally-available-moreover/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [I used to be a kid with a camera, and that used to be kind of endearing to people. Now I'm sort of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-c-pelosi/i-used-to-be-a-kid-with-a-camera-and-that-used-to-be-kind-of/) [Alexandra C. Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-c-pelosi/) > [It might sound glib, but in a sense, as an actor I'm a journalist and a psychologist recording life and truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertie-carvel/it-might-sound-glib-but-in-a-sense-as-an-actor-i-m-a-journalist-and-a/) [Bertie Carvel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertie-carvel/) > [“Recording life is a poor substitute for living it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/recording-life-is-a-poor-substitute-for-living-it/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [It might sound glib, but in a sense, as an actor Im a journalist and a psychologist recording life and truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertie-carvel/it-might-sound-glib-but-in-a-sense-as-an-actor-im-a-journalist-and-a/) [Bertie Carvel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertie-carvel/) > [I really love filling out forms - quite fortuitous, really, given that as one of Australia's 4 million-ish disabled people, ticking boxes and recording…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-young/i-really-love-filling-out-forms-quite-fortuitous-really-given-that-as/) [Stella Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-young/) > [Dude, I love playing drums, and I love being on stage, and I love recording. It's my life... it's been my life, all my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-lombardo/dude-i-love-playing-drums-and-i-love-being-on-stage-and-i-love/) [Dave Lombardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-lombardo/) > [The creative force in man recognizes and records these rhythms with the medium most suitable to him, the object, or the moment, feeling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/the-creative-force-in-man-recognizes-and-records-these-rhythms-with/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [To see the Thing itself is essential: the quintessence revealed direct without the fog of impressionism... This then: to photograph a rock, have it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/to-see-the-thing-itself-is-essential-the-quintessence-revealed-direct/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [For I am every dead thing In whom love wrought new alchemy For his art did express A quintessence even from nothingness, From dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/for-i-am-every-dead-thing-in-whom-love-wrought-new-alchemy-for-his/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [John Stuart was the quintessence of soft rather than hardcore, a woolly minded man of mush in striking contrast to his steel-edged father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/john-stuart-was-the-quintessence-of-soft-rather-than-hardcore-a/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [It seems not to have been written. It is the quintessence of life. It is the basic truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/it-seems-not-to-have-been-written-it-is-the-quintessence-of-life-it/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [Man is a microcosm, or a little world, because he is an extract from all the stars and planets of the whole firmament, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/man-is-a-microcosm-or-a-little-world-because-he-is-an-extract-from/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [Letter-writing on the part of a busy man or woman is the quintessence of generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/letter-writing-on-the-part-of-a-busy-man-or-woman-is-the-quintessence/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) ## More by Edward Weston > [I don't care if you make a print on a bath mat, just as long as it is a good print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-don-t-care-if-you-make-a-print-on-a-bath-mat-just-as-long-as-it-is/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Since the recording process is instantaneous, and the nature of the image such that it cannot survive corrective handwork, it is obvious that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/since-the-recording-process-is-instantaneous-and-the-nature-of-the/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [for the obvious reason that nature - unadulterated and unimproved by man - is simply chaos. In fact, the camera proves that nature is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/for-the-obvious-reason-that-nature-unadulterated-and-unimproved-by/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Good composition is merely the strongest way of seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/good-composition-is-merely-the-strongest-way-of-seeing/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Now one does not think during creative work: any more than one thinks when driving a car. One has a background of years —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/now-one-does-not-think-during-creative-work-any-more-than-one-thinks/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [The photographer's most important and likewise most difficult task is not learning to manage his camera, or to develop, or to print. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/the-photographer-s-most-important-and-likewise-most-difficult-task-is/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > […so called “composition” becomes a personal thing, to be developed along with technique, as a personal way of seeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/so-called-composition-becomes-a-personal-thing-to-be-developed-along/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Very often people looking at my pictures say, 'You must have had to wait a long time to get that cloud just right (or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/very-often-people-looking-at-my-pictures-say-you-must-have-had-to/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [An excellent conception can be quite obscured by faulty technical execution or clarified by faultless technique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/an-excellent-conception-can-be-quite-obscured-by-faulty-technical/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [I would say to any artist: Don't be repressed in your work, dare to experiment, consider any urge, if in a new direction all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-would-say-to-any-artist-don-t-be-repressed-in-your-work-dare-to/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Ultimately success or failure in photographing people depends on the photographer's ability to understand his fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/ultimately-success-or-failure-in-photographing-people-depends-on-the/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/consulting-the-rules-of-composition-before-taking-a-photograph-is/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [As great a picture can be made as one's mental capacity-no greater. Art cannot be taught; it must be self-inspiration, though the imagination may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/as-great-a-picture-can-be-made-as-one-s-mental-capacity-no-greater/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [I always work better when I do not reason, when no question of right or wrong enter in,-when my pulse quickens to the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-always-work-better-when-i-do-not-reason-when-no-question-of-right/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) > [Results alone should be appraised; the way in which these are achieved is of importance only to the maker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/results-alone-should-be-appraised-the-way-in-which-these-are-achieved/) [Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) [Explore all 76 Edward Weston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/) ## More Camera quotes > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [When I made my debut as an actor in 'Rock On!' I was confident to get in front of the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farhan-akhtar/when-i-made-my-debut-as-an-actor-in-rock-on-i-was-confident-to-get-in/) [Farhan Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farhan-akhtar/) > [Since a camera is something too heavy for women and initially made for men, you need a good cameraman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitra-farahani/since-a-camera-is-something-too-heavy-for-women-and-initially-made/) [Mitra Farahani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitra-farahani/) > [To be honest, I don't know... something about the camera like turns me into such a diva. Like when it's on and I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bretman-rock/to-be-honest-i-don-t-know-something-about-the-camera-like-turns-me/) [Bretman Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bretman-rock/) > [When the camera is on, I am an actor; otherwise, I am an ordinary person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/when-the-camera-is-on-i-am-an-actor-otherwise-i-am-an-ordinary-person/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [“A camera is an opening in a box: that is the best emblem of the fact that a camera holding an object is holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-cavell/a-camera-is-an-opening-in-a-box-that-is-the-best-emblem-of-the-fact/) [Stanley Cavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-cavell/) > [It's such a weird thing, because you have a whole crew of people standing over there, on the other side. There's a camera pointing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/it-s-such-a-weird-thing-because-you-have-a-whole-crew-of-people/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [“The camera lets me see things in a different way. It's like I finally have perspective. I can't always say stuff right in words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-cook/the-camera-lets-me-see-things-in-a-different-way-it-s-like-i-finally/) [Eileen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-cook/) > [I was so green, and my background was mostly in theater. The only thing I'd done in front of a camera, besides an infomercial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-britton/i-was-so-green-and-my-background-was-mostly-in-theater-the-only-thing/) [Connie Britton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-britton/) > [As far as lighting and blocking, camera angles and facial expressions, all that stuff that has to be very specific in film, as opposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-torres/as-far-as-lighting-and-blocking-camera-angles-and-facial-expressions/) [Eve Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-torres/) > [It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-photographer-not-the-camera-that-is-the-instrument/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like to move the camera that much anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-tucci/i-don-t-like-to-move-the-camera-that-much-anyway/) [Stanley Tucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-tucci/) > [I feel like 'Preacher's Daughter' was my Trojan horse, in a way. I'm excited to pull back, be behind the camera instead of in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-feel-like-preacher-s-daughter-was-my-trojan-horse-in-a-way-i-m/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) [Browse all 2,026 Camera quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Weston" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recording-of-life-for-rendering-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Camera" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recording-of-life-for-rendering-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/edward-weston-8944_cameras_the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recordin_1555062.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/edward-weston-8944_cameras_the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recordin_1555062.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/147/edward-weston-8944_cameras_the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recordin_1555062.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the…” — Edward Weston", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edward Weston", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The camera should be used for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recording-of-life-for-rendering-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/the-camera-should-be-used-for-a-recording-of-life-for-rendering-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```